New species and distribution records of Mesoamerican Ateuchus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

This paper describes three new species of Ateuchus for Mesoamerica. The new taxa are: A. gershensoni (copulatory hooks subequal in size and spinelike), A. perezvelai (small size; frons very convex; one very big copulatory hook and two small spine-like ones associated with a spiny fascies) and A. perpusillus (anterior pronotal margin incomplete; small and compact copulatory hooks, associated with a spiny fascies) from southern Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Redescriptions are also given for A. chrysopyge (Bates) (big size; copulatory hooks, one big, a spine-like medium-sized one and a hook-like small one) and A. guatemalensis (Bates) (pronotum punctured; anterior pronotal margin almost effaced; pygidium convex; copulatory hooks, two small and compact and one very thin and curved). New country and distributional records are also registered for Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. Distribution map, internal sac of aedeagus illustrations and photographs of dorsal habitus are included, as well as drawings of the dorsal habitus of the three new species. The present work clarifies the situation of the genus in Mesoamerica and updates knowledge of the group in Mexico.